ArtPrize announces 20 Public Vote finalists

ArtPrize announces 20 Public Vote finalists

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — ArtPrize, the international art competition recognized as one of the world’s largest annual public art events, on Sunday afternoon revealed the public’s top picks for the 10th annual event at the Public Vote Final 20 Announcement presented by Consumers Energy.

These 20 artist entries will move on to Round 2 alongside the Category Jurors’ twenty picks announced last week. These forty artist entries continue with the chance of winning $500,000 in prizes, including the $200,000 Public Vote Grand Prize presented by Meijer. Concurrently, ArtPrize announced the winners of over $25,000 in Independently Organized Awards.

PUBLIC VOTE FINAL 20

Round 1 Voting closed last night at Midnight, with 27,913 voters casting 222,786 votes for their favorite art. Visitors elevated five ArtPrize entries from each category — 2-D, 3-D, Installation, and Time-Based. These 20 entries will move on to the second round of voting, which will continue through Thursday, October 4. Round 1 Voting results were verified by KPMG, the Official Auditor of the Public Vote.

The public vote invites visitors from around the world to engage with artists and their work on a deeper level — to voice their opinions on what moves them,” said Jori Bennett, ArtPrize Executive Director. “It’s been thrilling to witness their enthusiasm over the last week and a half.”

In no particular order, the ArtPrize 10 Public Vote Final 20 are as follows:

$25,000 IN INDEPENDENT AWARDS
As an independently organized event, ArtPrize encourages participants to not only organize their exhibitions, but to also organize awards that honor specific achievements within the larger event. The winners of the more than $25,000 in Independently Organized Awards given to ArtPrize 10 artists include:

Best Feature Film:

Love, Gilda by Lisa D’ Apolito, determined by public vote. Organized and sponsored by Studio

Best Short Film:

Starry Skies by Sarah Schmidt, determined by public vote. Organized by Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) – Open Projector Night with presenting sponsor, Michigan Film and Digital Media Office.

HopCat WYCE ArtPrize Song of the Year:

Shineby Molly, determined by public vote. Organized by WYCE with presenting sponsor, HopCat.

Youth Collaboration Award:

More Than Words by Zeeland Public Schools: Adams Elementary at Courtyard Marriott Downtown, determined by public vote. Organized and sponsored by Western Michigan University – Grand Rapids.

THE STRING PROJECT by Chelsea Nix & Mariano Cortez at DeVos Place Convention Center, determined by public vote. Organized by the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with presenting sponsor, City of Grand Rapids.

Asian Artist Award:

Black Panther by YanFang Inlow at Grand Rapids Police Department, determined by public vote. Organized by the West Michigan Asian American Association with presenting sponsor, City of Grand Rapids.

Asian Artist Award:

Pure Michigan by Huaming Wang at DeVos Place Convention Center, determined by public vote. Organized by the West Michigan Asian American Association with presenting sponsor, City of Grand Rapids.

Decon + Reuse Vote Award:

Abiding In The Shadow by Jeff Best at Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, determined by public vote. Organized and sponsored by The Building Materials Reuse Association.

American Civil Liberties Union Award:

By Her Own Hand by Lora Robertson, determined by independent jury. Organized by Fountain Street Church with presenting sponsor, ACLU.

ArtPrize visitors will once again have the opportunity to voice their opinions and decide the winners of over $200,000 in prizes. Round 2 Voting will begin at 2 p.m. ET today, September 30 and will run through October 4 at Midnight ET. Visitors can cast up to forty votes, one per finalist, and ArtPrize encourages visitors to consider voting for at least one entry in each category. The winners of both the public and juried awards totaling $500,000 will be announced at the Tenth Annual ArtPrize Awards Ceremony, presented by the DTE Energy Foundation, on October 5.

ArtPrize is an international art competition, open to any artist and decided by public vote. It invites artists to try out new ideas on a large and diverse population of people. It seeks to broaden the critical dialogue around contemporary art by awarding the world’s largest art prize. Two $200,000 awards are decided by public vote and expert jury, and an additional $100,000 in prizes is awarded to the top entries in each category. Registered artists and venues connect online at artprize.org and agree to present the artwork for public display during the 19-day event. The public votes using mobile devices and the web to distribute their awards, while a group of international art experts determines the winners of the juried awards. ArtPrize 10 includes over 1,260 entries representing 40 countries and 41 U.S. states and territories. ArtPrize annually attracts more than 500,000 active participants. Since its inception, individuals of all backgrounds have cast more than 3.2 million votes for public art.

Leading Foundation Supporters include the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation, the Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation, CDV5 Foundation, the Efroymson Family Fund, the Frey Foundation, Knight Foundation, Peter C. and Emajean Cook Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

CWD Real Estate Investment is the Official Real Estate Provider. Honda is the Official Vehicle of ArtPrize. MLive Media Group is the Official Provider of the ArtPrize Event Guide. The Rapid is the Public Transportation Partner. WOOD TV8 is the Official Broadcast Media Partner of ArtPrize. The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation is the Founding Supporter of ArtPrize.